Off Panel #174: Back to School with Ramon Villalobos

By David Harper

September 24, 2018

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, artist Ramon Villalobos joins the show to talk his art and new Vertigo Comics series, Border Town. Villalobos discusses the Marvel movies, non-comics influences, learning about art, making something 100% his, Border Town, how it came together, the appeal of teen stories, his process, creating character through art, Tamra Bonvillain’s colors, the response to the book, how he’s promoted it, Comicsgate, his shoe game, and more, before closing with five questions about Ramon Villalobos, the person.

You can find Villalobos on Twitter and his work in Border Town at Vertigo Comics.

Off Panel now has a Patreon! Support the show and earn some rewards by backing the podcast on there.

Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, AHOY Comics. They’re looking to shake up the publishing industry with a bold new format: comic book magazines! What are those? Comic book magazines will feature traditional, full length comic stories plus extra material, like prose fiction from Grant Morrison, cartoons from Shannon Wheeler, and more! And AHOY is debuting in September with two titles: First is The Wrong Earth, a six-issue mini-series from Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle about parallel earths, heroes and vigilantes, and what happens when they trade places. The other is High Heaven, a five-issue mature readers mini-series from Peyer and Greg Scott about a chronic malcontent who dies and goes to heaven, but he still can’t help but complain about everything. Look for those in comic shops everywhere this month!

Also, thanks to the show’s other sponsor, Radio vs. the Martians! Mike Gillis and Casey Doran host the Radio vs. the Martians! podcast, a show that gathers their funniest, smartest friends once a month for a deep dive into science fiction, video games, horror, comics, movies, and everything in-between. So far, they’ve dissected topics like Superman, Steven Spielberg, Akira, George Lucas, Zombies, Twin Peaks, Hiyao Miyazaki, James Bond, Watchmen, and whether drivers are required to pull over for the Ghostbusters. Find this podcast and its spin-off show, Podcasta la Vista, Baby! a celebration of the films of thespian and statesman Arnold Schwarzenegger, on iTunes, Stitcher and their website.